Celebrate spring with this portrait of new life! The mare exudes quiet strength in the composition, with her foal standing slightly behind, cautious and curious.

Bonnie Marris wants viewers see each animal she paints as an individual, to connect with its soul. “We all know that our dogs and cats have personalities and their own ways of being,” she says. “Well, this is also true of grizzlies, of horses, of wolves—all nature’s creatures.”

The study of color and light is also important to her. “Color sets a mood, an atmosphere that can create feelings ranging from contentment to terror. There are colors within colors, too. The many colors in a shadow, for instance, convey cold or heat. The way light plays with the subject is also very important. I’m fascinated by hue changes in light as it ages with the day.”

Bonnie Marris won the 2016 Patron’s Choice award at the Autry Masters of the American West Exhibition. This was the third year that she won the Patron’s Choice and she has numerous other awards to her credit.

Bonnie MarrisWildlife artist Bonnie Marris’ fascination with animals began at an early age
when, at the age of two, she spent hours in front of the wolf cage at the zoo,
enraptured by the animals within. The attention to detail evident in her work
is a consequence of long hours studying her subjects in the field and her
background in illustration.
Bonnie Marris has taken an unusual path into art; she developed her talent by
portraying animals “from the inside out.” While she was a student at Michigan
State University, Bonnie illustrated several major books. One volume she
worked on was a leading expert’s mammalogy text that contained several hundred
drawings and detail studies. This massive project attracted the attention of
noted zoologist George Schaller, who invited Bonnie to prepare the art for
posters that would support his worldwide rare animal relief programs.
In addition to her accomplished skill at rendering her subjects and evident
affinity for the wild, Marris’ painting requires frequent and substantive
field experience.
Each year, Bonnie makes two major trips, and countless smaller ones, to
observe and learn about the wildlife she loves.
In 1980, one such voyage took her to Alaska, where she lived in the wilderness
for six months. She recounts, “To get into a natural environment and see the
animals on their own terms is as important as knowing the animals themselves.
For instance, gray wolves on the tundra—the vast, vast tundra with the wind
and other forces of nature at their most extreme—that’s what makes them what
they are. To stand not far from a grizzly that is so overpowering, so
beautiful and so large . . . to watch it pull up a small tree with a swipe of
its paw and just a few minutes later see it delicately picking blueberries
with its black lips. . . Alaska changed me; it gave me the biggest incentive
to paint and increased my interest in the predators: the cats, bears, coyotes,
wolves and foxes. They exist on so many levels. Their moods show in their eyes
and we can learn so much from them.”
Marris’ works were selected for the 2002-2005 Gene Autry Museum of Western
Heritage Show.